File 253
by Alice-Ann Wonderland
Summary: No day will be normal for young Alice Tyler, who has fallen through the rift and into the life of Torchwood. This is the story of how Jack Harkness and a young girl discover the darkness in the universe, and save it from danger, but they won't do it alone. Alice struggles to remember herself, and to find out who her parents are.
1. PrologueThe Rift

**_Here we go, a new story, completely not in the pop culture right now. good. Now, I don't want you all to hate me for using my own name, because that wasn't the point. I saw the name Alice. C. on the credit role, and decided that Alice was English enough to use. I didn't want to use some stupid name that doesn't even make sense. So, Alice is our girl, and this is how I like fanfictions, with lots of OC characters. (You can dream bigger with OC's you know)(Theres only one OC in this, sorry, that didn't sound clear.) Anyway, I just want you all to know, that my favorite line, which made me love Jack, was "You know, people used to even call me the Face of Boe." I smile every time. _**

_-She was running, or at least, that was all she remembered before she fell into the whiteness. The bright white of nothing, weightless nothing. Then, after who knows how long she fell through it, she landed in water, salty water. Around her a great expanse of salty water. Close by was a wooden dock, with a tall man diving off it into the water. She didn't know how to swim, and was very glad when the man who dove in held her head above the water.  
As he swam them both back to shore, the girl realized that he had been speaking. Something about a rift, time and space, and travel shock. None of it made sense, but she listened anyway, waiting for something to come up that she knew about. He talked on and on about aliens and strange things until they reached shore, where he lead her to a truck, and she promptly passed out. But not before hearing three words from the man, "...Captain Jack Harkness."-_

The weirdest things happen when you've just woken up, and the girl was confused, strange sounds and voices, smells and feelings. She barely remembered anything except the man, Captain Jack Harkness, and that nasty salt water. She noticed a sound, a voice, had registered in her ears, and she tried hard to focus on what was being said. They all sounded a bit muffled, and sometimes she missed a word, but she did make out two very clear voices.

"... good thing you found that rift break, Tosh, I don't think the girl could even swim. If I hadn't been such a hero and dove in, she lighted have died." The girl knew this voice, she had heard it before, it belonged to the man, Jack. But more voices joined in now, none of which were familiar to her.

"oh yes, Jack, your life is so hard to live; always being the hero." It sounded like a woman, but a kind one. Laughter, from what seemed three other people, rang out through a very tall and wide space.  
She opened her eyes, curious about the new voices, to see that she was lying down under a plaid wool blanket in a glass room. Before her was a coffee table, with a full pot of tea sitting on a tray, waiting. A large cup with three sugar lumps in it sat with the pot on the tray, right next to a milk pitcher. The whole set together was black, with thin, little white "T" 's on them. The next thing she noticed was how close the voices really were to her, only one glass wall away. In that room, there was a short, dark hair woman, next to her was a taller woman, with long dark hair. Sitting at the conference table in the middle of the small room was a man in a suit and a nice red tie. Sitting with him was another man with short dark hair and a long smile. And at the head of the table itself was the man, Captain Jack. Standing tall and strong before these other people.  
She watched them awhile, not really listening anymore, watching them joke and laugh about what happened after her rescue. (she figured since she was in the water, and the man, Jack, and mentioned rift to her, that she was probably the one they talked about.) She started to doze off again, with their voices a soft white noise for her ears.

When she awoke again, much more awake this second time around, she looked around more. What caught her first attention was that it was darker, that the natural light was gone, meaning it was night time. She worried that she was left here by herself tonight, and started to panic. She sat up straight, quick as a whistle, when she saw him a third time, Jack, which she final decided to call him, was sitting in the same room with the conference table. He had been reading a book, or maybe a paper, when she sat up. He was startled by her quick movement, and nearly tipped himself out of his chair. If the girl hadn't been so frighten, she would have laughed. He rushed into the glass room of hers, which again had a warm pot of tea and essentials with the thin white "T's" on the tray, and sat down before her.

"it's good to see you're awake, we were beginning to worry. You fell through a rift, a break, in time and space and are now inside the Torchwood headquarters. My team isn't here right now, they will be in about, oh, eight hours. They got a pretty uneventful day, except for you falling from the sky. You had me scared when you about went under, I'm glad I got to you in time. I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself, I'm..."

"Captain Jack Harkness... You told me that already." She was shocked by her own words, and by his reaction. So was Jack.

"Well that must mean you know the rift speech."

"Not really, I wasn't listening much the first time."

"good, I like talking like I know something really cool." He said this with a bright smile, one that she thought might be brighter then the sun.

"Now, you know mine, but what about your name, unless you're alien, it's bound to be a simple one, so tell me, who are you?"

"Me? Well... Just call me Alice Tyler, Daughter of Rose Tyler." Alice never knew that right then, that she had said something that would change her world forever.

**Please do tell me that wasn't horrible, I know Jack is all gay/Bi or whatever, but sometimes he really just needs someone who will... lets say, be with him a long time. I have decided to not put up another chapter unless people like this prologue, because I am really nervous about writing again, I am just not sure. Any-who, I hope you all will enjoy this chapter, I will continue to watch the rest of the Torchwood series, finish Doctor Who, and wait in vain for the third season of Sherlock to start. (Also, let me know if there are any mispellings or bad grammar, because sometimes I don't always catch it.)**


	2. Memory Jog

**Alright, with my one fabulous review from yesterday, and lots of writing energy, I finished my next chapter! The best part about the early chapters is that you can change the plot, and no one will ever know... unless you tell them. so I had a really good idea, and now all the parts are falling into place. This story is gonna be great!**

"…At least, I think it's Alice Tyler. My real name has been taken from me or changed so that I would remain safe if Project 253 worked." Alice said this, confusion dancing across her face, as if she was trying to remember something important. There was something else nagging at her in the back of her mind; as if she had just lost the most important thing in the world. But the feeling disappeared, and she just stared right into Jack's eyes; completely blanked-faced.

"What's Project 253?"

"I….I don't remember… I just knew about it a minute ago… I do believe I might be under an amnesia pill… Everything is starting to fall away. But I do remember one thing about the file, it came through with me." As she said this, she lost consciousness, collapsing into Jack; who realized that she would be staying for a very long time.

'I can't believe that was two years ago,' Jack was looking back on the story that Alice told him, he never thought that the void would open again, and this time blessing him with a child of happiness. All he remembered about the void was darkness and evil, never has it left anyone with the happiness of a child. He watched her as she sat in the chair in his office area, drawing some new fantasy or an old memory that had surfaced. He had told her to write or draw about these things so that he could know what was happening to cause the rift and the void to collide.  
'She looks cute when she puts her tongue like that,' he thought, not even realizing it. Catching his mistake he replied, to himself, aloud.  
"Don't think that way Jack, she only 16..." Not louder than a whisper, but he knew she heard him say something. she always knew, really, if he said anything at all; she was so tuned into his voice, she always heard him.  
Even so, his thoughts betrayed him, saying, 'Yes, but you will live forever.' With a huff, he surrendered, He knew fighting himself was not a good thing to do, so he left his thoughts in his conference chair, and went to his team.

She heard his grumble, he did that often when she was drawing in his chair. She looked up to see what his problem was, and saw that he was making his way down stairs. Jack only ever bothered to come down, while she was drawing, to ask a personal question, or if there were any new findings. He was so busy trying to analyze her drawings and journals that he never really slept; and he NEVER came down while she was drawing, so that he would get an accurate picture. Her hunch seemed correct, because he was holding a case file, with three large numbers on it, 253, and the word PROJECT. Jack was most interested in this file because it fell through the rift at the same time as Alice, only a short half mile away. Alice felt like she knew something about this file, but within the last two years, her brain and lost so much memory, that Jack made her start homeschooling in Torchwood. Whoever sent Alice through the rift really didn't want her to remember her old self.

The only parts of the file recovered were the numbers, a list of dates, past and future, and the location of Torchwood in the format of Jack's 'Jump Watch.' All the real information was stolen by the original finder of the folder, or so they assumed. They didn't even know if the whole file came through the rift. All Alice knew about the file was that deep in her memory, it frightened her just a little, like there was something she didn't know was on the other side. Then came a great relief, like she'd found the answer to a physics problem. She was confused about the file, and generally steered clear of the file and all of the investigating around it.

"All right team, we've got a job to do! Tosh, have you figured out what the numbers represent?"  
"No, 253 doesn't seem to mean anything to the decrypting system right now, but it's still working."

"Owen, have you been able to match those prints that you found on the inside of the file?"

"Besides Alice's? Nope, not one."

"Okay...Anyone else have ANYTHING on this file yet? It's been two years, why does it seem like we are understanding less and less on this file?" This file is the only thing that could help Alice recover her memory about before the fall through the rift. With drawing and writing, they got bits and pieces from her mind that had been shut off due to her amnesia, but things kept surfacing, hopefully something good will turn up soon.  
"I think I have something..." Alice said, with a shaky voice. She never really paid attention to what she was drawing until she was done. It kept her from trying to guess while drawing, which would cause bad memories to invade her thoughts. It would cause her to go into a fit of panic. As she glanced up at Jack, and he knew something had gone seriously wrong with this drawing. Never has Alice ever been scared of any of her drawings. They were mostly of buildings and plants, the sky and animals of London and Cardiff, the one defining thing was that they were all just slightly different looking than those that existed.  
The drawing she had just completed was something she thought was only a nightmare. Her mind quickly filled with old memories, rushing back to warn her to 'stay away!' she remembered her dreams vividly now, her running through a dark wood, on a cold winters night, breathing heavy. Somewhere behind her a great darkness was chasing her, and just as the bright light appeared, taking her into the endless white, she saw the face. Drawn in black pen, dark and murderous, was a drawing of the darkness. With long, thin, pointed ears, black as night snake eyes, and an evil smile filled with irregularly long, sharp teeth; the monster on the page was the Goblin's face from the end of all her nightmares.

_**I want to thank xDemonChickx for her(I'm hoping) review, because I could never go on without that very first, loving review. I am a person who loves to preform, and when people like my preformance, I am gladly going to do another. I do enjoy possitive feedback, please keep all hateful, unwanted reviews to yourself. As Thumper's father told him, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all." Thank you. :)**_


	3. Many Fears

**This**_** is my next installment, very interesting, rewrote it about three times. Don't worry though, its very good, very enjoyable, I hope. **_

_**I have a very scattered brain, so I wrote down the back story to Alice today. took up a whole page in a word document. too bad you don't get to read it for probably another...ten chapters. :)**_

_**With great pride, I give you the next chapter, and a warning, I will NOT be posting from June 11 through June 17. I have to go to a science camp to get stuff that looks good on applications for college.(and for those who don't know, I am a terrible speller, bare with me, I'm working on it.)**_

Jack was at his desk in an instant. Pulling the drawing from her hands and throwing it into a drawer. Taking her hands, holding them tightly, studied her face. Eyes wide like a deer, face drained of color, Alice looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Jack tried to pull her out of it, talking to her gently, patting her arms, waving his hands in front of her eyes, nothing was really working out. So Jack finally asked what was going on inside her head.  
"What it is, Alice? Why does that creature scare you SO much, that it's drawing puts you in panic shock?" He wasn't really expecting a reply, but when her lips parted and her eyes focused, he was listening to her every word.  
" it's... It's from the place that I came... It was the reason I was running, why I scream at night, why I fear being alone in the dark. It's known by many names, but the one I remember is... King of the Dark Hall."  
"What's the Dark Hall?"  
"I don't know. Why would I?"  
"Because you just... Alice, you were just talking about him."  
"Well I know his name, not anything about him, gees Jack, I'm not Wikipedia." Jack was frustrated that she had only small grasps of information, but relieved that she was joking, meaning her panic was over.

"Jack! We've got rift activity!" Tosh was at her computer, watching the signal moving. She whirled around in her chair, awaiting orders.  
"... Alright, Alice! Are you alright on your own? We gotta go!"  
"Yeah! I'll be fine, but you'd better get me some freaking pizza, Jack! I know where you should be sleeping!" Even when she is unwell, she always has a comeback. Jack had no choice but to leave Ianto at the desk and get the girl some promised pizza.  
"Ianto, you heard the girl!" Nodding, Ianto pulled out his phone and ordered her favorite, pepperoni, sausage, and olives, Chicago style. Then ran up to his desk, grabbing keys, and said he was coming.  
"But who's going to stay with Alice?"  
"Jack, she's sixteen, leave her by herself!" Ianto hated being left behind to play babysitter with someone who can watch themselves. Especially since he was the only one who could watch her now, besides Jack.  
"I thought you said that already! Leave me be, it'll be quiet for once in this building!" Alice loved when the whole team was gone, because it was her free time to go hang around in the city. She hated when people watched her, and so many problems had arisen that it was safer that way. Owen was never allowed to watch her again. EVER. When Jack came back from the mission they were on, and found Owen sleeping in the bed in just pants; Jack never trusted him with that duty again. When Tosh showed Alice how to work EVERY piece of machinery in Torchwood and she nearly killed herself with the items inside the vault; Jack was not going to let another member watch her except Ianto.  
"Fine. Alice will stay, you all will go. Happy?"  
"Jack, we need to go." Gwen knew if he didn't leave now he'd never go.  
Sighing in defeat, he knew that his team would probably start dragging him out if he didn't leave soon. Taking the keys from Ianto, he walked out and into the office with the outside door.  
This was Alice's chance to go have a night on the town, and she was going to enjoy it. She was going to go to a museum.  
_

Jack came back to headquarters with a rush to see if Alice was still alive. When he found her, she was sitting on the bed with her phone. Not sure what was going on, he left her to sit there. Wandering down the stairs again, he noticed how early it was. Since the team had a successful recovery of Janet, he decided to let the team go early tonight.  
"Alright team," yelling out so that his team could hear every word, "Go home, go party, go do whatever you do when you're not here." everyone grumbled, but didn't argue, knowing this was a once in a life time opportunity with work. So they got their stuff and left for the evening. Gwen paused for a moment, turning to look at Alice, with an expression of sadness. She quickly ran up to Alice's quarters and gave her a big hug which caused Alice to lose her control. She started to cry into Gwen, holding on to her tightly. That was the one thing Jack was never able to see; when Alice needed someone to hold on to.  
Gwen knew the look that possessed the girl's face was that of heartbreak. She knew that she had needed comfort, because Jack was not able to see it. She didn't ask, just hugged the poor girl. Gwen gave Jack a look that told him to shove off.  
Feeling like he was invading, Jack left them a moment of peace while he went to file the newest Janet hunt.  
Just as Jack was getting ready to come check on them, Gwen was yelling,  
" JACK! Jack, something's wrong! Hurry!" Dashing from the lower levels and up to his shared loft, Jack made it in time to see Alice release a golden light from her mouth. Jack knew what this meant, and he didn't very much like it either. He knew only one person this happened to, and what happened to him when it started.  
"Gwen, I've seen this before, she'll be alright, I promise. It's just something that happens when... you go through the rift, she's fine. Gwen, I'll take it from here, you go home for awhile, remember, don't lose your life."  
"you're sure she's alright? She was saying some odd things before you ran up..."  
"What things?"  
"Well, the one clear babble i understood was, 'Doctor, warn the other earth, their coming through..."

_**I would like to thank**_ BananaLollypop _**for reviewing my most recent chapter, I do believe xDemonChickx would have, if she'd(I hope) had the chance before this update. I would like to say that I will be trying to post a chapter every other day or so for awhile,(TRY, key word there) than probably more to once a week. Schools out for me right now, so I have lots of free time, but I will be very busy with dance in a few days, and so I will not be on time with every chapter, sorry. **_

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	4. The Doctor's Arrival

_**I do believe this is a new record, 4 chapters in less then a week.(thats like, over 4,000 words!) I have never written that much in such a short time before! Crazy! anywho, this chapter is one that I did struggle with, and I'll bet you'll figure out where, maybe not why, but it worked out in the end. So enjoy! **_

"Oh no, this is bad, this is very bad..." Gwen didn't understand why Jack continued to repeat this to himself over and over. Jack started to shake Alice, roughly, to awake her from her trance. When she didn't respond, Gwen ran to find anything that would wake her. Jack picked her up from the bed, and started to carry her to follow Gwen. As they dashed around the Torchwood base, they missed the reawakening of Alice in Jack's arms. She was shocked at first, not knowing why she was being carried, and froze. When she realized it was Jack holding her, she reached her hand up and touched his face. Jack, startled, tripped over a box and fell, while holding Alice, into the fountain. Alice squeaked and held on for dear life, while Jack prepared both for impact. With a giant splash, they both landed in shambles in the water. As Alice bobbed back up to the top, she saw Gwen rushing over to aid her. Realizing they'd need towels, She detoured to the cabinet to find some.

"Jack?... Jack?...Jack?" Alice questioned at first, than yelled for him.

She started a panicked search for him in the water. Splashing and yelling, she didn't notice the dark shadow in the water. As she turned around, looking for Jack on the other side of the pool, she screamed. Jack pounced out of the water, grabbed Alice, and dunking her in.

Gwen, hearing all the yelling, hurried back to the pool of water. What she saw when she got there was this; a tall, matured man, her boss, playing water-fight with a sixteen year old girl, in a yellow T-shirt, in a secret facility's fountain water. Sighing with relief, she threw the towels she had collected on a chair, and started toward the door. She knew that Jack never really got time to bond with Alice because of his job. Even if they lived in the same building, he was always busy with something important. So Gwen had decided to take her leave and let the two have some fun with their time.

"You two! Don't you be catching any colds or flues with your horseplay. We need you both healthy if we want Jack to be himself, you know!" Jack flashed her his signature smile, while Alice nailed him in the face with a soaking wet, rolled-up towel, leaving a red mark. They splashed and carried on for almost an hour, laughing, giggling, and just having merriment, which neither had had in a long time.

"Alright, little lady, we need to get you dry. Don't argue. You heard Gwen, no catching the flu." Jack hulled her up on to his shoulder and carried her like a bag of potatoes. Alice pounded him on the back, yelling to be let down, with no success. He grabbed the dry towel for her, Putting her down to dry herself, and went to retrieve one for himself.

"So, Alice, you've had us pretty busy the last couple of hours, what's going on?" He said this as he stripped off his wet shirt and dried out his hair.

"I'm not sure, I think whatever it is though, is falling apart inside me. I feel like I need to be running, hiding, from something; but I'm not sure what." Alice had never really thought about what was going on inside her, it was as if there was a warning system hiding in the back of her mind. She mussed over this as she plopped herself down in her favorite chair, Jack's.

"I'll be alright. I haven't had any serious problems yet, just panic and, apparently, saying things that I don't even know I'm saying. Other then that, I'm pretty normal, not that you can beat that, mister 'I-am-so-wonderful-ever-girl-and-boy-loves-me.'"

"Hey now, don't you be getting sassy with me, I'm not the only one, miss 'left-by-herself-so-I'll-just-leave.'"

"Whatever! I'm still better then you anyway! Besides, if it weren't for me, things wouldn't about to get really interesting."

"And why do you say that?"

"Because last time I looked at this file, there were only three pages, now there's four."

"What?..." Jack came racing across to see what she was talking about. And there, in File 253, was a new page of information. On the page was an equation, long and complicated, but what shocked Jack most about it was how it was arranged; just like the rift equation, with just a few different numbers. Jack picked it up to study it better, just to make sure that it wasn't just a fluke with the equations.

"Hey, Jack, you need to read the back of the paper..." Looking at her face, he decided that what was on the back was much more important than the front. On the flip side was writing in red pen, with long, tall lettering. Jack followed every curve of every swooping letter, reading the note twice. He always had faith in his Doctor, but this wasn't something be wanted from him. On the back of the paper read the words,

_'He is coming, he made it through the void and the rift. Jack, watch her like she was your own, or he WILL destroy everything. He is coming. _

_Signed,_

_The Doctor and Rose.'_

As if that wasn't shocking enough, the rift activity alarm went off, at least, they thought that's what it was. Alice ran over to see what it might be, and froze on spot. Standing right in front of their rift camera was the man himself, someone she thought she'd never see again, the Doctor. And behind his head, and his little bowtie, was a blue police box, the TARDIS.

_**I just gave you guys the best prize ever, a SURprise! Yay! I hope you did enjoy it, sometimes I think I rush through the plot a bit, and it just sounds sloppy. I'm trying to keep it at a steady pace. If you liked it, please review! I love reviews, and my reviewers love to get mentioned, which is what I also love doing. I just love entertaining, and its more fun with more people! Heres to my reviewers!**_

**_BananaLollypop: I find it funny that you're going through the Doctor Who phase, I'm still in mine! Netflix is my summer life right now, because its on there. I just got in on the Matt Smith seasons, and personally, i liked David better... Oh well! Another good BBC I'm watching is Sherlock, oh my gosh, its amazing. _**

**_Don't feel bad about school, I am just glad that my school didn't have any snow days, or I would be at school right now, instead of typing up this chapter. So now you have something to look forward to!_**

xDemonChickx: _**I am so glad you have returned to us! People never really understand how much they mean to the writer unless the writer tells. I am ever greatful for both of my reviewers, and I'm glad that you enjoyed my lastest chapters!**_

_**If you read and enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	5. Confusion

**I**_** need to apologize, I was very tardy on this chapter, and its not even a long one. I was going to expand on it, but I got very busy in the last couple of weeks, and totaly forgot, so I am very sorry for being tardy and having nothing good come out of it. I will say, its not a filler chapter, its still got plot in it, the next one probably will be though, again, sorry.**_

_**Once again, I'm apologizing, I ment to put this up about two days ago, got busy, forgot. I feel terrible, and its not even a long chapter, I'm so sorry.**_

Alice took off into a run for the front gate out. She had to see this man, this Doctor, that she somehow knew he would understand and could help. Jack saw her go, and went flying after her. She made it up to the main door when Jack caught her, trying to hold her still. She fought her way out of his arms by scratching, biting, and wriggling. Pushing through the door, she turned to see Jack shaking his girl-bitten hand. Before she had a chance to turn around , she ran into something tall and solid. She hit the ground hard, scraping her hand on the pavement.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I was just coming to see if Jack was still flirting in this... ello..? Who might you be? You weren't here before..." looming over Alice was the man from the screen, The Doctor. Now that she looked at him, she realized it wasn't who she remembered the Doctor being. His bowtie is what really hinted her toward this decision, her Doctor didn't wear bowties.

"Doctor. It's good to see you. I see you've regenerated again, Still not a red head either. How's this one compared to tall-and-skinny?"

"Well, Jack, you look a little aged there, birthday coming up? No, I don't really remember what it felt like in that body; just this one now. But tell me, Jack, I'm the one with companions, this girl isn't a part of your team, who is she?"

"Well...She is..."

"Alice Tyler, resident of Torchwood tower, girl with faded memories, and responsibility of Jack Harkness. Pleasure to see you again, Doctor." Alice had been agitated that they would talk about her like she wasn't there, so she had taken her stand.

"But... I've never met you before...Have I been here, in the future? Why would I want to see Jack twice..?"

"Thank you, Doctor, but no, you haven't. I don't know how and knows you; I doubt she even knows how. She's been losing memories for about two years now, since she came through the rift, and..."

"Wait, wait, wait... Did you say, 'through the rift?' no human should be coming through the rift. That just... Doesn't happen..." The Doctor started to work out how this was possible, how this earth-human girl fell through the rift... "AH! Jack! She's like you!"

"Uh...no, she's not just like me. She doesn't 'do' what I 'do.'"

"No, she's like you, she's a paradox! No human can get through the rift, plus the fact that she just happened to land at your Tower, with someone like yourself in it! Don't you get it? She didn't just 'happen' to be here, someone sent her! And!.."

"Doctor! Doctor. May I talk with you privately? There's something you need to see..." Jack took the Doctor inside, when Alice tried to follow, Jack waved her off. He didn't want the Doctor bringing back any unwanted memories for her; at least, that's what he told her. He gave her twenty bucks to go and have a night on the town, just this once, with his permission. As she was walking away, she heard Jack say one intriguing phrase, "Doctor, I believe I know exactly what you're thinking about Alice..."

_**Thanks to my reviewers, xDemonChickx and BananaLollypop, my ONLY reviewers( I had a lot of hits on this stories, unless those two reread a bunch, I don't think there are enough reviews to equal that... I really do LOVE reviews) I just finished watching season 6 of the Doctor, and now I'm back to Torchwood, sorta. I'm working my brain back into writers mode. I hope to get a new chapter very, VERY soon. If I don't... I will punish myself by washing our dog.(Our dog HATES water)({I just realized I sounded very much like the Doctor there, been watching that WAY too much.})**_

_**Anyway, please read and review, a much better(longer) chapter is coming!**_


	6. The Candy Shop

_**Here's me paying it back, I wrote a whole chapter this morning, just for you people! I was just tapping away at my Ipod screen, no idea how much I was writing. When I uploaded it to my Word document, my mind was blown. 2000+ words to this chapter!This will be the longest one I have ever written. EVER. i was really happy about it. I was going to make this a filler chapter, but then... Lightbulb! I fixed some stuff, and then I finished writing. And this turned out to be a pretty good one too! I have two puns in here, I want to see if you can figure them out. its in diolague between Charlie and Alice.**_

Alice was in complete disarray. She was confused about the Doctor, and why she knew him, why she loved him. She was confused about why Jack wouldn't let her know about her past. Which lead to more confusion, like why Jack was going to let a 'paradoxal' girl out on the streets. Why would Jack, after all these years, suddenly just let her out on her own? Really, though, it's what she wanted, some freedom from the Torchwood tower. But to be put out on the streets, when someone important shows up, and told to leave, how else would she be?

Dazed, and slightly confused, Alice decided to hit the town. It's was her one get-out-of-jail-free-card after all. So she set off at a speeded walk, towards her favorite place to shop with Gwen, the candy store. It sat right across the street from her, and all the lights were still on.

The front was light up with it's usually bright rainbow colors and happy toys, candies, and other bright, happy, assorted things. it almost reminded her of what Willy Wonka might have done if he has owned a window shop. The front window read, "The Tower Candy Shop." she always thought this funny, because it was named after the tower where she lived, and the man who owned the store always talked about it. He had crazy stories about it, none true, but still about as wild as what really happened there anyway. Alice never let it slip that she knew things about that tower, just let the old man ramble on about it, smiling innocently the whole time.

As she pushed on the door, she heard the familiar little tinkle of the old bell on the door. The smell of sweets and tarts flooded her nose, and she smiled at the sight of her old friend. He was a short old man, white headed, but he was always smiling. Alice liked him for this, the only person in the world who never seemed to have any problems.

"Alice! My favorite costumer. Here for some of your own chocolate-dipped cherries? Or maybe something new, like a fruity chew?"

"I don't really know, Jack let me out on my own tonight. I was surprised that you were still open this late."

"Don't ever worry, you young-heart, I will always be open if you need me to be."

"Thank you, Charlie, you are one of the best people I know."

"I have to lock up the back of the store, but you can stay as long as you like. Try something, even, a free treat to my favorite young lass." with his perfect smile, he walked around the corner of the counter to the back of the shop. Alice knew that there were many doors, and that he would check them all, so she had plenty of time to herself.

She took a seat at the counter, on one of the old bar stools, and looked around. The store was very different with no one in it. It almost seemed too much for just one person to take in. She turned more in her seat, and looked at the soda fountain behind the counter. It never had anything in it, because Charlie didn't think drinks satisfied someone's need for sweets. As she continued to turn in her seat, she noticed a very odd looking painting tucked behind a box in the back storage, behind the counter. Alice knew very well that no one was supposed to be behind the counter unless they had permission.

'He won't mind though, he knows me very well. He would have let me if I asked.' Alice jumped the counter, being as light on her feet as possible. He was an old man, but he was as sharp as a whip. Pushing through the beaded entryway to the back storage, Alice kept her eye on the painting and her ears on Charlie's very distant footsteps.

The front of storage was bright and filled with candy boxes. But after the first few steps, it turns into what it should be, storage. The painting that she had seen had been a reflection, one of the mirrors that made the storage look much bigger. So using her line of vision, she traced the reflection back to another mirror. This one smaller but closer to the painting. Across the way from the small mirror was the painting, but also across the way was a very large bear trap. Now why Charlie would need a bear trap, let alone right in his candy shop, was a complete mystery to Alice. Cautiously, she crept closer, stepping lightly inside the trap, trying not to set it off. Scared of the trap, but in a trace with the painting, Alice had completely forgotten to listen for Charlie. His voice was close, too close for her to make a clean getaway. So she snatched up the painting, it being small in size, tucked in her shirt, and zipped up her light jacket. Jumping out of the trap, snagging her pant leg on the teeth, she almost feel face first to the floor.

"Alice? Are you alright? I'm done locking up, I'm coming up front now." Charlie was right around the corner from her, his voice very close now. Ripping her pant leg, she ran around the next corner.

"Alice?"

"Charlie? I was calling for you, but you never answered, so I decided to come see if you were alright."

"I'm fine dear, but you appear to be bleeding, what did you do?" Alice didn't remember getting cut or bleeding. She looked down to figure out where she was bleeding, and saw a big red spot on her pant leg, right where it had ripped off in the trap.

"Oh! I fell over a box, I didn't even realize I had started bleeding! I'm sorry to have worried you, Charlie, I'll clean it right away."

"alright, I'll get bandages, wait right there." As Charlie turned back around to face the trap, Alice turned stone cold. She saw, stuck on one of the teeth, a portion of her pant leg, smeared with blood. She held her breath, hoping that Charlie's eyesight was worse than it was. Charlie paused, but he didn't look at the trap, but where the painting had been sitting. Scratching his head, he turned to glance at Alice, who was 'studying' her injury, aware of what he was looking for. Shrugging, he went to retrieve a bandage for Alice.

As soon as Charlie's back was completely gone into the next room, she ran to the trap, snatching up the piece of cloth, and shoving it into her pocket. Alice, still standing by the trap, didn't hear, again, Charlie re-entering the room. He held a very clean, white bandage in his hands, and a pair of scissors. trying to look innocent, Alice looked at Charlie, then at the trap.

"Why is this here, Charlie?"

"It's to keep the monsters from stealing my goods." he said this with a very big smile, but in a dead serious tone. If Alice hadn't been bleeding so much, she would have questioned this further. But the pool of blood had grown, and Alice wasn't feeling quite as sharp as usual.

"Let's get you bandaged and back home, dear child, we can't let Jack get too worried now."

"Yeah. But I still have to tell him I almost killed myself on a box!"Charlie chuckled,

"Dear Child, I don't know how Jack keeps you alive, the way you are always getting hurt!"

"We know how, by keeping me at home all the time. 'No fun. No life. No candy!' that's what his rules sound like to me..."

"He means well, dear. Don't worry, it'll all sense eventually. And if it doesn't, well, let's just say life doesn't always make sense."

"Charlie, how do you always know just what to say? Is that what wisdom is? Being able to tell what is needed to be heard?"

"Wisdom? I am but an old man, I am not wise, but caring. I listen to my heart, and speak what troubles my mind. You should too, young Alice, because then you never have to worry about your troubles."

"you're a good man, Charlie B. Rown, and I'm glad you're my friend."

"I'm glad you're my friend, little Alice, the child who can brighten even a sour queen's day."

"I must be getting back, Jack will be worried."

"then go, child, I will clean up. Its late, you must be tired."

"Bye Charlie! I'll see you soon!" Alice yelled as she ran out the door.

"That child, God bless her heart, because she's about to break it..."

She had almost forgotten her painting in her shirt, and as she was running out of the light of the shop, she took it out. Looking at it now, she realized the painting, was in fact, not a painting, but a piece of parchment. And on this parchment was what looked like circles, all intermixing with each other. Large and small, thick and thin, all the round lines on the parchment looking very strange to her. She knew immediately that it was alien, and that Jack would know what it was.

Rushing out of the light of the store, Alice ran across the empty street to the tower, finding the back entrance, she waited as it lowers her in. Sitting cross-legged on the stone, she studied the circles more. It looked rushed, as if it was scribbled, onto the parchment. This lead Alice to believe that maybe it was a type of language. This was probably the prettiest she'd seen in a long while.

The stone stopped, as did two voices that Alice didn't notice till they had hushed. looking up sharply, she glanced quickly all around her, trying to find Jack. Instead, her eyes fell on the Doctor, who was sitting in Jack's chair. Panicking, Alice stood quickly, causing a head rush, and she stumbled off the top of the stone. Falling off the ledge, she thought she was going to hit the floor. But, never failing, Jack caught her on her way down.

"Alice! Why do you always fall off this thing? I need to install a safety net for you."

"Maybe we could get bean bags to soften the fall?" Alice joked. She and Jack always seemed to make the best out of a dangerous situation.

"Jack, I have something I need you to read."

"what is it? A boys love letter? The answers no."

"Don't be daft, Jack! It's alien writing!" Jack lowered her to her feet, and she handed him the parchment. Looking at it intensely, Jack tried to decipher the circles.

"How do you know it's even a language?"

"Do you see the roughness of the inner circles? No one would scribble an art piece, they would finish it perfectly."

"those are some serious decoding skills you've got there, Alice."

"thanks." She smiled at this, she loved it when she was able to point something out to Jack that he didn't notice.

"Wait a moment... Did you two just mention circles?" Alice jumped, she forgot that the Doctor was sitting there. He had gotten up and ran over to them. Taking out a... Well she didn't know what, with a green light and hovered it around the parchment. Flipping it up, he seemed to be reading something, he gasped. Snatching the parchment from Jack, his eyes trained back and forth over the circles.

"What is it, Doctor? I couldn't read it, and I have the TARDIS translator."

"Oh... Jack, this is so beyond what we thought it was..."

"What do you mean? Is this another clue to my past?"

"Oh, yes it is... Where did you find it?"

"uh... It belongs to my friend, Charlie."

"Charlie... Charlie what? Charlie Greg? Charlie Water? Charlie Akers?"

"Charlie B. Rown."

"AH HA! It all is starting to fall into place! Sorta of... Good man Charlie B. Rown! Doing his ever good duties! Makes good candies too, I might add. Well, whenever he was given this, it was about ten years or so ago."

"But I only got here recently! There's no way that has anything to do with me!"

"That is very untrue! Time has a way of working itself out very funny. Anyways, you wrote this note."

"What?" Jack and Alice chorused together. How could she have written it?

"But I don't even know what it says!"

"Well first off, that's because it's in old Gallifreyen, only timelords know this language. how you know it is unknown to me! But the best part is what it says!"

"What's it say?"

"'Find the Doctor. He knows of the things I speak.' Well that doesn't make sense, you never said anything!"

"Doctor," Jack said, "The back. There's more on the back."

"What did I say there, If I did write it?"

"Well, roughly translating,' I, who grew in the different time, need to find he who fathered my life. For he is the warrior to destroy the Dark Hall, ending my eternal torments.' and it was signed by Alice H. Tyler."

**_so I'm posting this early, because my last chapter was just...short. And I hate to leave you with such a short chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well as the last!_**

**_Please Read and Review!_**


	7. Missing Info

"I don't even know Old Gallafreyen! How in the world could I have written that?! And! I don't have an 'H' initial. So that's not me, not at all!" Alice thought the Doctor was playing a trick on her, and wasn't giving in to the punch line.

"It's your name, right there," pointing at an intricate drawing of small circles. "You wrote this. Now by how she knew I might know something, I do not know. You only just met me, how, why, do you write a letter to yourself, and me?"

"... Because she's from the past... She didn't send it back, it was sent forward! Timelords date everything, right Doctor? Check the date, because she could have only learned this from a timelord like yourself."

"Let's see... And... There's nothing. There is no date. Which would surprise me, except that if I did teach her, they'd be no date. I never know quite what the date is, and I probably couldn't tell her."

"What a rubbish timelord you are! I write a letter, and you don't even know when it was written!" Alice was tired, and all this was starting to cause a major headache. She sat down on the floor, realizing how weak her legs were, and started to drift to sleep.

"Doctor. I think we should analyze this, Alice, go to bed. You've been up too long. We don't want you tired for what might be in store for tomorrow."

"Yeah Jack... Whatever... You say..." Alice tired to stand, but her legs refused her weight. Noticing the problem, Jack picked her up and carried her over to the sleeping quarter. As he laid her down, he started to speak. But Alice had fallen asleep while he was carrying her, so he let her sleep peacefully.

What Jack didn't know was that Alice was already being tormented by dreams. But these dreams were different than the rest. She saw the man, the one she thought was the Doctor. He was sitting with a blonde woman, whom Alice seemed to trust completely. They were talking quietly, arguing about something to do with the 'Other Earth.' As Alice came closer to them, they hushed. The woman turned, her face a blur, and spoke aloud.

'Oh, dear. You're supposed to be in bed, it's late. Let me take you back." letting the woman take her hand, they walked away from the man. He told them both goodnight using their names. Alice clearly heard her name, but the woman's was lost in the sound of the opening door. This scene played over and over again, each time, the face blurring more and more, the name becoming fainter and fainter until she heard nothing. The nothing was what shocked her out of unconsciousness. It's such a strange thing, how nothingness can haunt a person. For years, these dreams never really bothered her, but now, she knew that she loved and trusted these people and had no idea why.

That's when it struck her, she knew the woman's name. She peered back, way back to two years ago, when she first met Jack. She had told him who she was, then who she was mothered from. The woman in her dream was her mother, the man must be her father. Listening back now, the name clearly rings out to her, in the man's voice and her own.

"...Rose Tyler..." How could she forget the person who raised her? They may not look alike, her long brown hair and her mother's short, blonde hair, but she still loved her. If she could only remember who the man was, her father.

She looked back through her broken memories, new ones were popping up all over. From childhood to the white light, her brain felt like it was burning. All her memories trying to charge back to their place, and getting mashed together on the way.

"Jack?! Jack! Help!" Someone was yelling, And Jack's footfalls were approaching. Only when Jack was in front of her did she realized that she had yelled. When his hands went to her face, she also noticed that her face was wet, she was crying. She was startled, never had she ever had so many problems in her life. Her memories filled with fear, but also of loving parents. She wouldn't stop the pain in her head, because it meant more of her life back.

"Alice! What's wrong?! Tell what's wrong...!"

"I remember her, my mother... Rose. You remember that, don't you? She's my mother... Rose Tyler." She was crying again, but this time she knew why. She was crying for joy, the happiness of finding her family.

"She was in my dream. Her and the man, the one I thought was the Doctor. Their my parents."

"I remember you saying it, I remember Rose. I know a lot more about Rose then you might think..."

"Really? You've known about her and never told me?!"

"You never asked. And I figured you'd want to remember on your own. But what I'm curious about is who this other person is. You said he reminded you of the Doctor, why?" Not sitting far off, the actual Doctor was listening, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Re-reading the letter from Alice. His theory was about to be proved.

"Well... He just... Was the Doctor. That's who he was. But I guess I was wrong, because he doesn't look like the real Doctor..."

"...Well I hate to interrupt, but I think you're right. The person you see as the Doctor IS the Doctor, just not this Doctor." Gesturing towards himself, trying to explain it.

"So... Your saying... That there are two Doctors? And one of them is my dad? But why do you look different?"

"Well, there's this thing that I do, as a timelord. It's called regeneration. When a timelord is about to die, the energy of the time vortex enters our body, and changes it. So we never die, it's our curse. We change shape, face, personality, everything changes. We're never quite the same afterwards."

"So... The Doctor I see is you... Before you were you? So I'm from the past?!"

"Not quite, Jack and I have a shared theory. I have heard that there have been messages from a Doctor and Rose. One mentioned the Void. The Void was opened only twice in my life time, and terror was all that came from it. Then you came, falling not only through the Rift, but through the Void."

"So... Where did I fall from?"

"Well! This is where the theory starts, and its s fun one! You, brave little soldier you are, fell from the parallel universe of Earth. It's on the opposite side of the Void, never to come in contact with ours. This is where Rose Tyler lives with a clone of mine. Rose Tyler used to live in this time, but her father had died, and the other Earth had him still alive. So Rose took to living in that world instead, with the clone Doctor. Jack was the man who made this happen, it seems it's paid off!"

"...It's a long story, I'll tell you later, I don't think he's done yet..!"

"Thank you for your input, and no, I'm just warming up!

So! I have gone through a regeneration since then, and the other Doctor hasn't. And it seems, from the stories Jack tells, that you are part timelord. Releasing the golden light from your mouth when you're sleeping or tired, unusual body heat, and, if I may check, probably two hearts."

"What?! No, I only have one heart! And the heat has been gone for a long while! I can't be timelord."

"But how else would you know Gallafreyen? I taught you, well, the other me did."

"But I'm not! Go ahead! Check! Please!"

"Alright!" The Doctor pulled out his... Gadget, and hovered it over her chest. Over where her heart was, the pitch of the gadget increased, showing that there was something there. Then he moved over to the other side, but the h didn't change this time. It stayed right where it started.

"Strange... I thought for sure... The light... There are still pieces missing..."

"See? I'm not!"

"So Doctor, if she's not timelord, does that mean, she's not Rose's either? I know Rose loved the Doctor too much for any other man to take her. Maybe she's adopted."

"No, that's not it... Remember the letter she wrote? It said she grew in a different time. Maybe, even though that's all she remembers, she not from the alternate universe. Maybe... She's really from this one. Someone sent her through the Void before she was sent back, by myself and Rose. But, she would have been only a baby at that time..."

"You mean to tell me that I'm not the child of Rose, who raised me, but that I'm really from here? Originally? And that you're the Doctor that my Doctor came from, My father? And that I'm having timelord problems, when I'm human? That I have been living in the wrong universe my whole childhood?"

"Yes! Exactly! My dear friend, you've been busy jumping back and forth through Void your whole life, and you don't even remember... Now, the real question is... Why did they send you back, when someone sent you there to start?"


	8. A Discovered Horror

Alice was all very confused about this matter, so much back and forth in her timeline. She didn't want to believe the Doctor, because she had thought she had just found her parents, only to find out that they were 'adoptive.' So her whole life was a lie, and she was back to square one on who she was and where she came from. She hated having to start over, not knowing anything majorly important about her life, because that was all she had left to believe; her life and Jack. Everything was twisting and mutating against what she thought was logical, and things were only just breaking the ice.

"Well, what about the Goblin? The Dark Hall? What's that?! I don't think that was something that had introduced itself to my life until I was 'jumping' the Void." Alice was trying to connect all the dots she had created for herself over the course of two years, with her memory and the File. The File! There was that new page, with that long equation on it! Maybe if the Doctor looked at it, he would understand what it meant!

"Doctor! Did you see the equation? On the back of the note? Jack and I forgot about it until now, but it might have something to do with all the twists in my timeline!" She wasn't even listening to what they were discussing, just throwing in her thought before she lost it.

"You sure are a sharp child, defiantly raised by yours truly," the Doctor smiled and wiggled his bow tie. "Well! Show me this equation, and we'll see what comes of it!" Alice went and retrieved the note from Jack's desk, and handed it to the Doctor. He brought out his gadgety-thing and swept it over the paper, analyzing and calculating the equation. He hummed at the gadget and stared at the paper.

"AH!" His voice boomed so loudly that Alice jump and Jack flinched. "I know what this is! It's a blood transit, an equation with a persons DNA calculated into it so that only they can use it. This must be what they used to send you here, you and only you. There was something they didn't want following you here."

"I bet I know what it was, the goblin thing, it has always been in my memory, and it was there right before I fell through the Void!" Alice was having major memory boost, her mind felt like a new door was opening. She was starting to see her mother's face, the other Doctor's face, and the goblin face, all at once. The shocked scared her and she fell back in shock.

She was lucky though, she had fallen on a chair, looking like she was had just sat down out of spite. Jack gave her a look, but she just smiled, knowing it was better not to tell him.

"Your probably right... And with a blood transit, you have saved thus world from a terrible danger, I'm assuming. Well done! You're doing Jack's job without even realizing it!"

"Yes, because that something she needs to be proud of..."

"But... Jack... The first note, the very first... Didn't say that 'he got through?' does that mean he found another way to get to our earth?"

"That is probable, the Cybermen had developed a way of getting through, maybe he has as well... The only way to check is by monitoring the Rift. But I don't think we have to worry about it. Right Doctor?"

"... Well... That may not be true... If it did make it through the Rift, that would probably mean it was using Alice's blood transit equation, causing it to only work one time, because he could only open it once. He may come looking for you so that he can... Bring over his army, because, from what you tell me, a king will never leave his army behind while conquering a new world."


	9. Arrival

**A/N: I know I'm really late with this one, but I have fixed and worked, and re-fixed this really fast, so that I could get it up. I'm trying to balance English papers and other school work on top of dance and musical. I get myself into a lot of stuff, and now I'm making you all pay the price, very sorry indeed. I can't remember who reviewed last time, but thank you so much! I really appreciate when you review!**

**anyway, Allonsy!**

Alice had been searching through months of video, from the day the note was found to the present hour, looking for any unusual signs or creatures. She found many interesting aliens and Unidentified flying objects, but nothing that look even a wink close to the Goblin. She was determined though, to find her way back home, to find her rightful parents, and find out why her life has turned into a mumbo-jumbo ball of timy wimy... Nonsense.

The computer flashed a video on screen, and before her was the image that plagued her every thought; the Goblin. The date, two days ago. This might have been shocking, if it hadn't been for the fact of what was displayed on screen, the Goblin staring right into the camera, smiling. His horrid face filled the screen, his eyes seeming to glare right into the soul of her being.

Alice closed the video quickly, and pushed back her chair. Her thoughts completely filled with everything that she had remember from all the years she had spent with Rose and the Doctor. She loved them very much, even if they weren't her real parents. No matter, it didn't change the fact that they had raised her into a adventurous, strong willed, (almost) independent woman. But it was important to her to find out who's child she was, why she had been sent from her birthplace to a world parallel to her own.

She stared for a long while before she decided to remove herself from her sitting arrangement and find a better place to try and lay down. She glanced around for Jack, discovering him in his favorite place, when not occupied by Alice, his chair. She detoured from her trip to the couch over to where he had situated himself. She threw herself down into a chair opposite of him, and stared right at his face. His face was trying to stay without emotion, each knowing the other was staring. Luck was never in his favor for this, though, and he finally broke a smile.

"It's not going to change, no matter how long you stare at it… Whoever said that obviously never started a staring contest with you. What brings you away from your computer over to my humble abode?"

"... I found the video." Alice's tone was almost comical, light-hearted, like she was joking. Jack just smiled, thinking she was just pulling his leg; until her face turned serious. Jack adjusted in his chair, almost too quickly, shock playing across his facial features. She wasn't joking around, she had found some very dire information, and he needed to rally his troops for a hunt.

"Well, where is he? We have to find him. We know that he's going to try and find us, well, you, as soon as he's picked up any sort of trail." Alice hated when Jack became so serious, he lost his fatherly charm, his inner peace. He became stern and eyes almost livid with the idea of a monster hunting down Alice.

"West Coast America. Washington. The video feed was from some small town named Forks... Or maybe it was Spoons... Somewhere out West in America, that's all I can give you. I have the quadrants of the video feed, take them in the vehicle." She was lost in thought, trying to remember just where it had slithered into this universe, but not finding the answer she was looking for. She wondered over to grab her laptop, to taking a portable drive with her with the feed on it. She was still lost in thought, thinking about where she had seen the area before, but not ringing a bell. Shrugging, she just showed him the feed, paused, with the hideous face filling the night-vision-green screen. The face told a thousand words, but the main feeling from it posed as the predator stalking its prey casually. The mission would be dangerous and more than likely, deadly.

Alice was hoping she could sit this mission out, she did not really favor seeing the monster of the late hour. He had changed her life, and she wished, begged, that she could have prevented this from all happening. This is when she realized, If that happened, she would have never met Jack. He was her soul protector, her savior, her life. She felt a bond with him that she didn't with any other being she had ever met.

"We're going, we have to find him. We have every right, because we know he's looking for you." Jack rose from his seat and dialed his phone, calling everyone to base to prepare for the mission. Gwen, Toph, and Owen. He needed his able bodied crew behind him for this one. It was going to be a long night, and a much longer day. "Do you want to come?"

"No... I.. I think I'll sit this one out." she left without another word and ascended the stairs to the loft with the couch. Jack watched her go, noticing the toll all this was leaving on her; she was tired, scared, and just never herself anymore. She seemed like a small lost child, which he guessed she was at the moment, trying to find her family. Searching, but never finding the answers to her unsolved dilemmas. He was going to help, he was going to find this creature and help her find her proper family. That thought hurt, giving her up, after all they had learned from one another. But he had to do this, and he must be off. Jack was hunting down a terror of the night, just so that his little girl could get some sleep tonight. He was going to end all the nightmares. What he didn't know was the great and terrible discoveries he would make, and how Alice's life was more intertwined in his footsteps through life, and multiply deaths, than he could have thought possible.

**Please Read and Review!**

**And if anyone remembers the name of Jack's "Mother"/ actually his wife/girlfriend(Or whatever she was, it had something to do with fairy's, right?). It would be much appreciated. **


	10. Shocking Discovery

**Here is my second chapter of promise. I hope this is going to seem as thrilling as I thought it was. Probably not, but you'll understnad why I tried to drag out the ending a little bit.**

Jack and team had set out over twelve hours or so ago, and Alice had ripped open every box, document, and folder that had anything to do with her, Jack, or time travel; which was most of it. The documents were piled from floor to ceiling in the little conference room. This was where Alice was spending all her time. Hunting down names and trying to find anyone to call family. File after file, book after book, she was relentless. She found boxes of files under old floorboards, inside hidden documents on the computer, and many blacked out words. She stayed there for days; no one came or went, until she was hungry, for Jack had left with his crew, so she lingered behind with more desire for a discovered parental bond than a monster hunt. She found many hints, here and there about Jack that she never knew; he was more than a hundred years old and still looked about 31. She noticed that he came from the middle of nowhere, and was first seen dressed in something that didn't come around for years. Another person out of time, waiting for someone to being them back home.

Alice dove in and out of all the files she had collected, even her own file. She discovered one about Charlie, the candy shop man, another on Jack's aged wife. She wanted to learn everything she could compress into her brain, with it restoring old memory, new ones needed to make a mark. She had flashes, recognizing Rose and the Doctor, replaying her life in her head, putting as many 2-and-2's together as she could. There were still parts of it that didn't connect, didn't complete her story, but that didn't hold her back. Her entire history, her life, all depended on how much information and data she could dig out of the whirlwind of papers.

At first she had just starting tearing through everything, only realizing her mistake after she'd thrown papers everywhere. She needed to get organized. She started her own spider wed, first with herself, soon adding in Jack, Rose, and whatever was written down about the Doctor. So other characters came into play with her web, seemingly unimportant, but she discovered their huge role in her life. Jake's wife was one that she supposed wouldn't have had an effect on her, but she discovered a longer, more complicated relationship that had shape Jack into the man he is today.

Taking notes on Jack's wife, Alice absentmindedly flipped through the photos, not really noticing anything striking. They were pictures of Rose and Jack, a few hit-and-miss photos of the Doctor, who was oh so sneaky about avoiding the camera. Where had he gone, in fact? He sort of just, left. Alice hadn't realized that he had disappeared until this moment, trying to visualize when he had made his exit. To no avail, though, the Doctor had a quick way of disappearing and showing up eight years older and a new face younger.

So Alice returned to her old box of photos she had found in Jack's desk, mostly of things like fairies and aliens, nothing too new to Alice. Others were of a younger woman, all black and white photos, who Alice found very beautiful. It had a sweet little message on the back, something about the love of his life. She found it darling, that Jack had had a sweetheart that he loved so dearly. It also made her sad, because she knew that this woman would be either very old, or dead. That was one thing she had discovered about Jack, his immortality. He suffered from lost friends and family, who he had outlived, and probably will outlive for the rest of his years. She just hoped that Jack would stick around long enough for her to say a loving Farwell.

Which reminded her, she needed to send Jack the info. And data she had discerned from the piles and piles of paperwork. He was always so silly about her being punctual, but she knew that this was something beyond anything he had ever undertaken, and was trying hard not to panic. She sent a picture of her web, and photos of the information, including a written out portion of the documents. _Now that that's done, back to research!_ She was being ever insistent about finding her family.

Digging through more of the photos, her fingers brushed a very old envelope, one she had missed her search through. A photo was inside, she could feel it, and it had been tucked inside the brown envelope that had not yet been opened. It was addressed to Jack Harkness, and had been mailed almost fifty years ago. A small note was on the front of the photo, mentioning something about the girl's college years. It was a school portrait, and she was making a silly face. It was of the same young woman; at least, she thought it to be the same, but almost hoping it wasn't. As she gazed into the eyes of the girl, she felt as if she was staring into a very small mirror. The shock of this discovery almost scared her into throwing the picture away from her. But something greater inside her stopped this motion; this was who she had been searching for all this time, her mother. It had to be.

Jack was reading up on texts that Alice was sending him every half hour or so about facts that might point them in the right direction. It would make a sweet little bell noise, like a Christmas bell, every received text. He transferred as much as he could onto a computer to work with while Gwen drove the monster of a vehicle. They were on a witch hunt for the Goblin, knowing that it was after Alice was a good enough reason for everyone else to join in quickly. As Toph worked with the data, Owen and Jack analyzed the information that Alice was feeding them.

What has alarmed Jack a bit was when the bells had not jingled in almost a two hour time period. But they were in mountains in America, and blamed the reception, not his old phone. Alice was probably just got caught up in something really important, and she'll remember. She's never one to be tardy on something like mission information. _Although, she did seemed to be interested in the fact that I had a wife when I lived back in the day, maybe that made her upset with me; for not telling her._ Jack almost panicked, if it were not for Gwen's expert decoding skills about Alice.

"Jack! She'll be alright! She's probably found something that's more important to deal with than sending you a message every second!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know! It's just hard thinking that our little Torchwood girl is growing up!" His dashing smile reviled again, displaying how nervous he was about the whole situation. He just wanted to get this creature away from this planet, universe, for that matter, and back to where he knows it's safe. Back where he knows Alice is safe. He wouldn't lie, that child was more like his own, if he had had any, everyday. She was becoming someone all her own, no longer depending on him to show her how things worked. Her memory was almost completely regained, meaning that his importance in her life was slowly starting to dwindle into nothing. But this wasn't something to concern himself with at the moment, they were almost to the site, which meant that it was all going to come to an end soon enough.

_Jingle Jingle!_ Jack read his newest message, sighing with relief, but it was short lived when he tensed. The image she had sent was from so long ago, and he had never even opened the envelope it had rested in. It was a picture of his someone he thought he'd never see again, his wife, and later, his mother. But this was not what shocked him, it was the fact that she looked just like Alice did, minus the brown hair. Jack was starting to put the puzzle together, and it's image was becoming more distinct and shocking. Jack was related to Alice, the only question is, is she his sister or his daughter?

**I just want to know how many people saw that coming, and be honest. I really want to see if I managed to fool maybe one person. Because you paid attention near the beginning, you could tell that something like this was coming. Seriously, I tried dropping hints. **


	11. Filler

I'm so sorry about the long delay, I'm usually pretty punctual. I've been kicking it off really well with a new story and got really, really sidetracked. I'm going to try and get something down with this as soon as I can! Sometimes if I haven't seen the show in awhile, I tend to lose sight of what I'm doing. So I'll re-watch nad try to get my head wrap around this again! Alice and Jack are just starting to understand what they really mean to each other too!

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Love,

Alice.

(Allonsy! Doctor Who special in one week!)


End file.
